Summer Nights
by tahtswutshesed
Summary: Post TTP. Summer vacation brings in a bunch of criminals to the LEP, one being a juvenile who's guilty of much more than our heroes think. H/T, A/H.
1. One

**A/N : **Since the only story I have written thus far is a short one, I've finally decided to work on a long one. I started this last summer, and now since it's almost that time again, I'm gonna work on getting it up here! So, please, enjoy! :)

* * *

A small eatery in Haven's downtown district played host to a variety of customers. From rich fairies throwing swanky dinner parties drinking the fanciest of human wines, to families of average fairies enjoying dinner together, and the occasional fairy couples spending time getting to know one another, this area of the crowded metropolis offered a lot to its citizens.

Two of the area's patrons were eating together, dining as the occasional couple demographic in a smaller, less crowded bistro. Seated in a booth with digital advertisements for the "newest" technology, the two elves were chatting about their jobs, enjoying what time off work they had to spare for this date. Both of them couldn't help but feel a sort of awkwardness in the air as they ate, but both tried their best to ignore it.

Captain Holly Short of the LEP sat on the inside of the booth, eating a fruit salad made up entirely of diced melons, berries, and other citric fruits. She glared down into her dish. Looking up from her plate would mean looking up into her date's eyes, something she'd never been good with. Holly spared a glance up and found herself staring right into Commander Trouble Kelp's eyes.

"You know, you could take a picture. It would last longer," Holly said, faking a smirk.

"And you could actually eat that food instead of playing with it," Trouble responded. With a slight movement of his head, he inched closer to Holly's face. "You know, this 'eatery' charges a lot more than it should."  
Holly frowned. "You told me not to worry about price!"

"Holly, I'm just joking," he said as he leaned back into his seat.

She half-chuckled, half grimaced, tossing the fork into the bowl. "Good, because this is _really_ gross." Holly took notice of the advertisement flashing on the display screen wall beside her. "I bet this tech ad would drive Foaly crazy," she said, adding a small laugh.

"If he even bothered to look at it," Trouble said, tilting his head. "That pony probably has no tolerance for lesser tech that isn't his."

Everyone at the Lower Elements Police HQ in Police Plaza was aware of Foaly's general lack of tolerance to any sort of technology that wasn't his own. The centaur's only interest in these "lesser beings of advanced technology" was motivation to make a better model of the item in question, and now that the summer months had rolled around, Foaly found less and less time to create these improvements that he longed for so much.

The change of seasons in Haven always leads to the LEP becoming increasingly more active. When the schools in the underground city let out for the summer, the juveniles find ways to break the law. And it's almost always juveniles. While the general rate of crime does rise over the summer in Haven and also in Atlantis, underage fairies usually are to blame. It was for this reason that Holly Short and Trouble Kelp could barely find time for this evening out.

The two sat in silence for a while, until Holly became fed up with the poor excuse for a fruit salad she was trying to eat. "So, how goes the job of the Recon commander? You've been pretty busy these past few weeks."

Trouble seemed glad for the introduction of new conversation, but wasn't too thrilled about the topic. "Busy can't even begin to describe it, Holly," he said. "A couple days ago, a juvenile decided to go on a theft spree, and managed to escape from his arresting officer. For some reason, the underage pixie gave us more difficulty than he should have."

"Doesn't seem too bad," she noted, feeling more comfortable now that this was their topic. "I would have buzzed the kid and threw him in a cell for the night."

Trouble's expression changed into amazement as his eyebrows rose. "I hope you're kidding," he said, almost begging it to be the truth. It was that kind of attitude that had gotten Holly into certain situations before.

"Unfortunately, yes," she replied, smiling. "I'm not that much of a loose-cannon anymore." Holly laced her slim elfin fingers together, and rested her chin on her hands.

The commander relented, relieved that he wasn't going to have to switch into superior-inferior mode with her. "Good. He was still a handful though. Summer break brings in a tidal wave of juvenile activity. You know that."

"That is true," she answered. "If only I were a major, I could do so much more to help ebb that wave." This was jokingly stated, of course. Holly wouldn't play that card against her commanding officer, especially in this situation. Trouble laughed, and stood from the table.

"If only, _Captain_," he responded mockingly. He handed Holly her sweater, and she took it playfully. Trouble knew this didn't bother her, and that she was actually quite open to teasing. It gave her a chance to argue, which was one of her favorite things, even if she'd never admit it.

"Mmm-kay, Trubs. You keep giving me these surface missions and I'll promise not to complain anymore," she relented, smiling. The exact opposite of what Trouble had expected her to say.

As Holly headed toward the door, Trouble put his jacket on and took a minute to place their bill down on the digipad on their booth. He also took a minute to watch as Holly Short strode to the door, in a rather jovial mood that he'd never really seen from her. It was almost as if Trouble had broken the shell on this tough, headstrong, long and lean female… He was letting his mind wander. Having to convince himself to put away his manly notions and inclinations, he followed Holly out the entrance and into the faux-night sky.

* * *

The pair arrived at Holly's flat, located on the outskirts of the main district. The wind slightly picked up, sending Holly's short bob twisting in the breeze. Trouble resisted the urge to push the hair back into place behind her ear.

They stopped at the door, and Holly began searching her pockets wildly.

_D'arvit,_ she thought, _I can't find my entry card… I knew this was going to happen._

"What's the matter?" Trouble asked. "Can't find the card?"

The security card, along with a five digit key code, acted as the keys to Holly's apartment. Both were necessary to reassure the security system that she was indeed Holly Short.

"Oh… Actually, no, I have it right here," she answered, eventually finding the card tucked away in the bag hanging off her shoulder. After sliding the card into the slot and entering her five digit code, she glanced up at her date.

The wind seemed to pick up in this moment, sending shivers down her spine. Either that or it was the way Trouble Kelp was looking and grinning at the elf.

Holly hid the anxiety that was creeping upon her. "I had a fun time tonight, Trubs," she said, managing to smile. Even though the food at the bistro was lousy, the wind being almost uncontrollable, and losing the key card, Holly genuinely did have a good time. She enjoyed spending time with the commander, hoping that their relationship could become something else.

"So did I, Holls," Trouble replied, smiling, using her nickname from the Academy and his personal choice for her. Making the movements undetectable, he gradually stepped closer to the female captain.

Holly chuckled, looking out to the surrounding apartments. "It's kind of surprising that we both had the night off, especially with our schedules – "

"Would you mind if I come in?"

Holly didn't say anything for a second, trying to gather her thoughts about what was going to happen. Holly Short was by no means an inexperienced elf, but she wasn't all too sure what could occur in her flat.

"I… Yeah, I mean. Sure," she stammered, "I wouldn't mind at all."

She pushed the door open, pocketing her key card. "Don't mind the clutter, I wasn't really expecting anyone."

Trouble smiled, taking in as much of the apartment that he could see from the doorway. "After you."

Holly returned the smile, entered her flat, and headed her kitchen counter. "I really should clean up a bit. It probably looks like a pair of trolls had a wrestling tournament in here."

"Trust me Holly. This isn't bad at all. I promise," he said. Trouble crossed over to the couch and sat down. "This is quite a roomy flat. It looks smaller from the outside."

"Yeah, I know," she said, taking off the 3 inch heels she had on, and her green cardigan, setting them on the counter. The whole set up of the apartment was an open floor plan. It would have been large enough for a family of four, let alone a single fairy. Holly walked across the living room and took a seat beside Trouble. This man was her coworker, her superior. It was almost impossible to believe that she was sitting beside him, in her apartment, at 2 o'clock in the morning.

"How long have you been at this flat?" Trouble asked, curious to know more about his officer.

Holly shifted on the sofa to face him, unaware of how close she actually was to him. "It's been a while now," she answered, thinking back to when she actually purchased the apartment. It had been a long time. Before her father passed away.

"I see," Trouble nodded, continuing to glance around. He took notice of the picture frames on a side table. "Is this Coral?"

Holly smiled. Trouble had noticed the picture of her mother. Coral Short had been killed during a mission with the LEPmarine unit, which had led Holly to join the LEPrecon. She took the frame from Trouble's hand, preparing herself to answer any question he had to ask her. "Yes, that is the famous Coral Short. People say I look just like her, but I can't quite see the resemblance myself." She laughed, fully aware of how identical she looked to her mother. "I haven't had time to sit down and just... Just look at her photo like this" She was getting emotional, and she knew it. Holly did not want this to happen.

Trouble felt the sadness welling up inside her, and strategically placed a hand on her leg. He was getting too good at this. He shook the thought from his mind.

_Holly isn't going to just be one of those girls,_ he convinced himself. _She's special; something about her is special. I am not going to ruin this chance with her._ He moved his arm from her leg to around her shoulders.

"Your mother was a great woman, Holly. And you take after her in more than one way. You should be proud of her accomplishments. And I'd say you're more than living up to her expectations."

Or maybe he would ruin this chance. Sweet talking the girl into doing what he wanted was a common tactic he used.

Holly looked down at her lap, placing the digital photo frame back on the table. "I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd get emotional. I wasn't really planning on crying in front of you tonight," she said, wiping a miniscule tear away from her almond shaped eyes.

"I'm sorry too, Holly," Trouble replied, pulling Holly in for a hug. "I'm sorry you lost her. But you're stronger than this." He lifted her chin with his finger. "You're an LEP captain."

Holly smiled. "Thanks Trubs. You know how to cheer a girl up."

There it was. She was learning his strategies, one of the many Trouble had told himself he wasn't going to do tonight.

"Let me also apologize," he began, "For any way I may have treated you recently."

Holly looked puzzled.

"I know that you know, and everyone else at the LEP, about my history of, well…" he looked away from her eyes, desperate to confirm that she was not one, "…of my flings. I really like you Holly, and you deserve to be treated as woman, not as one of the bimbos I've slept with in the past."

Still, Holly was confused. "Trouble, I'm not quite sure – "

"You're more than just that to me, more than I bimbo, I mean, but not a bimbo – "

"Do you always have to interrupt me?"

"You're not a bimbo, and no, I don't, but…"

"But…?"

"Holly, I really think you could be special for me. I want this to go as far as it can go," Trouble finally spit out, now looking Holly straight into her mismatched eyes.

Instead of an answer, even a small, one word response, Holly leaned in and kissed him. Trouble found himself accepting this as an answer, and delved with his captain further back onto the sofa.

* * *

**Ch. 2 preview: **The morning after! Everyone's favorite anti-hero makes his first appearance! Holly makes more witty and sarcastic remarks! Stay tuned! :D


	2. Two

**A/N: **This update came rather quickly. As of now, this may be all that is posted for a while. Please stay tuned, I promise the story will be rolling along here soon. Thank you for reading! :)

* * *

The underground city of Haven was a sight to behold in the evening, especially in the early morning hours of 3 and 4 o'clock. To many, the artificial night sky twinkling on the roof of the cavern provided a romantic mood, and to others, it acted as a blanket to cover the crimes they were committing. Sure enough, the romantic setting experienced by the two elves lying asleep in Holly Short's apartment was charming, but the high crime rates that the Lower Elements Police had been experiencing lately wasn't at all lacking. Goblin gangs were rallying up, wandering the streets and pick-pocketing innocent fairies. Teenagers now free of any schooling for the summer were defying curfew and driving regulations. And that damn swear toad epidemic was beginning to swarm up again, with a particularly nasty turnout on this particular evening.

It was this hoard of amphibians close to Holly's flat that woke her up. Her eyes opened groggily, and her mind was, at first, unsure of the ambush of fairy curse words that were full in her elfin ears. She sat up, stretching, and remembering the infestation of swear toads, which calmed her mind. At least it wasn't a rioting group of teenagers. That would have concerned her more.

Holly sat in her bed, barely covered by the green blankets or by clothing. A shiver tingled down her spine, and she noticed the elf laying to the left of her. A smile formed on her lips as she recalled what had happened. He had been so experienced, so calm. Something may have felt off about the evening, but it was an enjoyable one nonetheless. She stumbled out of the bed and wrapped a robe around her slim elfin body.

While Holly wasn't a rather romantic fairy, she couldn't help but feel the morning-after residual sensation of happiness. Still, there were some doubts that she housed about the night spent with Trouble Kelp. There was a certain confusion about him, and she wasn't exactly sure of what he wanted. Holly didn't want to become just another fling to the commander. Holly wouldn't be the first of many females on that list, and she most likely wouldn't be the last. Either way, she let the happier mood flow over her for a few seconds, and walked into her washroom.

Holly's flat was traditional in the sense that the "bathroom," more commonly referred to as the toilet-room to the People, was located in her back yard, along with the shower area, all in a closed-off mini-room. In the apartment, however, was a more modern aspect, containing a wash room attached to her bedroom, a component often seen in human homes. This room only contained a sink and a mirror, along with most of her clothes. She glanced up at the mirror, shutting the door, and turned the light on, as to avoid waking Trouble Kelp, who still remained fast asleep in her bed.

Her reflection had changed a lot in the past couple months. The once-cropped, nearly side-shaven auburn hair had now become a chin length bob. Holly's bangs had become longer and side-swept, the fringe brushing slightly below her tapered eyebrows. She played with the hair, pulling back the bangs and what she could of the rest of her hair. After deciding that her face was too pointed for a slicked back look, she dropped the ponytail, shaking her hair around. The mismatched eyes that had dominated the captain's face for nearly a year now stared directly at her in the mirror. Holly prodded her left eye, the ice blue eye she swapped with Artemis Fowl on their journey back from Limbo. She chuckled. _Good thing we're not joined by some sort of freaky eye connection_, she thought, _or else he would have seen what happened last night._

As if on cue, the communicator she had left on her nightstand back in her room started vibrating. Holly nearly jumped a foot in the air. It was 3:30 in the morning in Haven, who would be calling this early?

Only four people had the number for her communicator. Foaly was her 1st contact listed, and at this hour, he surely wouldn't be calling. The centaur was most likely busy with his gadgetry, now being the technical consultant for Section 8 as well his usual position with the LEP, and wouldn't call Holly this early just to rant about his newest inventions and such. He at least had the decency to wait until she showed up at work to give one of his tech speeches. Either that or he was asleep, dreaming fondly with his wife Caballine, who was expecting a child very soon .Holly quickly ruled out her horsey friend as the caller. As she quietly worked her way back into the bedroom to answer the phone, she also eliminated the chance that the station was calling her. Trouble was usually the one to make the calls to his officers in case of serious emergencies, and, seeing as he was asleep in her home, this was not the option either. Holly grabbed the communicator and shoved it into her robe as she headed back towards the wash room. Mulch wouldn't be calling, merely because the dwarf was probably sleeping or out running the P.I. agency with the pixie Doodah Day.

The female captain pulled out the phone when she was out of ear shot of the sleeping commander. The last possible option, and the actual caller, was Artemis. She groaned, wondering what in the world would prompt the Mud boy to call at this time. Haven and Ireland ran on very similar time schedules, but it wasn't unlike the genius to stay awake all night. Holly flipped open the front screen, seeing none other than Artemis Fowl II himself.

"Good evening, Holly," he said slyly, as if he were hiding a dirty secret.

"Hello Artemis. Are you aware of what time it is?" she asked, trying to skip Artemis's usual grandstanding. She was now sitting on the floor in the wash room, hair tucked behind one ear, but noticeably messy.

"Why yes, I am fully aware of the time," Artemis responded. "I do believe that Haven runs approximately 32 minutes behind Ireland's clock?"

"Yeah. We do. Which would make it _approximately_…" she checked the moonometer on her phone, "…3:32 here in Haven, and 4:04 in Dublin?"

"Well done, Holly," Artemis said, more astounded with the fact that Holly had continued with the time conversation rather than her math skills. "I'm quite surprised that you are actually giving in to my banter. But then again, with the way I _assume_ tonight went, this is not the only thing you gave into."

Had it not been so early in the morning, Holly would have shouted at the Mud boy. She was all too aware that this reaction is what he'd be expecting from her, and she didn't want to wake Trouble. So she merely moaned. "What do you want, Arty? Why did you call me this early?"

Artemis relented. He knew that his friend loved quarreling, and realized that something may be wrong. "May I ask what the problem is, Holly?" He never was one for subtlety when it came to addressing others' problems.

Holly looked away from the screen, breaking the eye contact she had with him. "I'm sure you already know. I wouldn't be surprised if you had been eavesdropping on us, anyway," she said with a sigh, recalling the theory she had a few minutes ago about the 'freaky eye connection.' Her usual, quirky wit surfaced for a moment as she said: "Adult things."

This racked Artemis's normally quick brain for a second, as he caught Holly's smirk. This was more like the elf, and even if Holly didn't know it, he may have set her up for that line, just to make her feel better. He took her line to heart however, as a real actor would, and made a genuine attempt to help his best friend recover.

"I'll have you know, Holly, that I know a lot more about _'Adult things_' than you may realize," he stated, squinting his eyes and playing his vampire-smile card. "I've written many romance novels as a young boy, and I'd say the steamy situations in those scenes could be comparable to your evening spent with the commander."

Holly was back now, the real smile returned to her face. The insecurities and doubts she had been thinking about earlier quickly faded and she now had the capacity for actual serious conversation. "What's up, Mud boy? What's with the call?"

"Nice to see that smile again, Captain," Artemis returned, glad to see that his ploy had worked. Holly was now herself, and now capable of handling the news he had to give her. "I picked up a news feed from the LEP satellite. Apparently, a juvenile convicted of larceny managed to escape from an officer, so I presumed I could tell you what I know about this suspected teenager."

Holly was now confused. "What would you know about this, Arty?"

"Not very much actually," he said, twisting a slender finger to his face. "Apart from the fact that after this juvenile escaped, he somehow managed to contact me."

Holly's ears quirked up. A lot was to be taken in from this single sentence. They had enough of a situation due the escape, but now that she knew he had tried to contact Artemis, more was at stake here. The underage pixie, wherever he was now, had found some pretty high tech and called Artemis. While it was good news that Artemis was not the boy he'd been when the LEP first met him, it was still rather discerning to think of what could have happened. Fairies aren't typically allowed to make contact with humans, unless they're LEP officers, or any high ranking fairy politician or Councilman. This was just as serious as the B'wa Kell smuggling arena they had taken down countless years ago.

"When did you receive this call?" Holly asked finally, after absorbing all of the information she'd recalled to her mind.

"Around midday yesterday," he replied. Artemis was fully prepared to answer the next question that he was sure would be asked.

"Why didn't you tell me this yesterday?"

"Because Holly," he started, determined to finish with no sarcasm apparent in his voice, "You were enjoying an evening out with the commander. I did not call because I did not wish to interrupt."

"Oh. Well, I guess that's a valid reason."

Holly was suddenly halted from continuing the conversation because she heard the door to the wash room creak open behind her back.

"There you are, Holls," Trouble said, relaxing in the doorway. "I rolled over to wake you up, and you weren't there. We got a call from HQ…" He trailed off when he saw Holly sitting on the floor, communicator in hand, with Artemis's face lighting up the screen. "Oh, good morning, Fowl," he stated. "Didn't expect to see you this early."

Artemis knew he had to choose his words carefully. Although he had no reason to be concerned around the commander, he still didn't wish to change the good terms they had been on with each other. Trouble Kelp was prone to dislike a person such as Artemis Fowl, especially if that person deserved it. Artemis didn't want to see how far he could push the commander and ruin what minor relationship they had.

"Yes, commander, I was simply calling the captain to inform her of a situation that had arisen – "

"Cut the small talk, Fowl," Trouble ordered, as if Artemis was one of his cadets. "I need Captain Short at the moment a little more than you do."

"If I may stop you there, Commander, I think you need to hear this."

Trouble wasn't going to be convinced. The peaceful morning he had planned to spend with Holly had been interrupted by a call from central. The dispatcher released that a fire had been reported at 3:46 by an elderly gnome and needed an officer to respond. And he had walked in on his date chatting it up with the Mud boy in her wash room. Trouble did not approve of this, feeling what suspiciously seemed like jealousy creeping into his mind, and wanted Holly out of there. "I don't need to hear anything, Mud boy. I need my officer to go with right now so she can do her job."

Holly, quiet through the whole argument, spoke up. She glanced up at Trouble, making sure to put her best sincere face on. "You go ahead. I'll be there shortly," she said, gently reassuring her superior with a subtle hint of something more. "I'm not fully dressed anyway, and if I don't show up, there are bound to be others officers there."

Commander Kelp sighed, going back into Holly's room to grab his shirt and shoes. "Okay," he said, returning back to leave her with a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll be back soon, hopefully."

"I'll still be right here," Holly smiled. She waited until she heard the front door slide shut before she looked back at Artemis.

"His actions have me seriously doubting if there is an actual emergency," Artemis concluded, starting up the conversation again. "He didn't even tell you what the problem was."

Holly pulled her robe back up over her shoulder. "That's how he is. Usually, he can't separate work from, well," she chuckled, "From me."

"Which is precisely why those kinds of office relationships never work. I assume it's much harder for police officers to pull it off."

"Shut up, Arty," Holly snapped. "We're fine. This whole thing is fine. I should expect this."

"If you say so," Artemis sighed. "At any rate, I think you should come up to the manor as soon as you can. I want to show you the transmission your juvenile pixie sent me."

Holly stood up, unaware of how much of a mess she actually looked like. "It'll have to wait until Trouble leaves. I can't guarantee that he'd be too happy if I were gone when he gets back."

"I can wait, then," Artemis said. "Please, don't keep him waiting, Holly. Put some clothes on and go do your job," he smirked.

Holly rolled her eyes and closed the communicator. For those who didn't know the boy genius like Holly did, they could have assumed that he was being sarcastic and selfish. Holly Short knew all too well that Artemis was being genuine in his words and was sincerely telling his best friend to put some clothes on.

* * *

**Ch. 3 Preview: **Holly joins Artemis on the surface while Commander Kelp responds to the emergency 909 call. What he discovers is almost as shocking as the info that Arty gives Holly on the surface!


End file.
